In an effort to catalyze action in cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and control, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) was tapped by the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to assemble an expert committee to recommend measures for reducing global CVD risk following assessment of existing knowledge and strategies. The committee report on the recommendations was presented in a late-breaking session at the WCC 2010 earlier today.  

CVD has been a major concern in developed countries for many years and has now become an important health issue in developing countries as well. Despite the increasing number of deaths in developing countries attributed to cardiovascular disease, most governments of emerging economies have undervalued CVD as an important health concern.

The challenges of cardiovascular health promotion may prove even more difficult for these developing economies. While risk factors for CVD are well-established and the actions required to address them are ostensibly simple, dealing with them in reality is far more complex. Patient behaviour change is difficult to achieve, with personal choices largely dependent on wider social and environmental factors, such as limited access to quality healthcare.

A major goal in overcoming the challenges of CVD is developing an environment conducive for patients to make healthy lifestyle choices, and one that can contribute to chronic-disease risk reduction. The committee report challenges governments in emerging economies to develop adequate public health infrastructure and health systems for effective healthcare policy and program implementation.

Collaborative initiatives are essential to promoting CVD control and prevention strategies. Collaborations between governments and non-government organizations ensure a more equitable access to affordable diagnostics, essential medicines and other preventive and treatment interventions for CVD. While most of these efforts are rooted at local and regional levels, global coordination and monitoring is also necessary. Annual reports that provide objective assessment and monitoring of global efforts against CVD are most useful. These global assessment reports can serve as a guide for capacity building, support, planning and evaluation in the local setting.